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Aya, de Yopougon
Aya, de Yopougon | Marguerite Abouet
26 posts | 36 read | 38 to read
For the residents of Yopougon, everyday life is good. It is the early 1970s, a golden time - work is plentiful, hospitals are clean and well equipped, and school is obligatory. The Ivory Coast is as an island of relative wealth and stability in West Africa. For the teenagers of the town, though, worries are plentiful, and life in Yop City is far from simple. Aya tells the story of its nineteen-year-old heroine, the clear-sighted and bookish Aya, and her carefree and fun-loving friends Adjoua and Bintou. Navigating meddling relatives and neighbours, the girls spend a last summer of their childhood on the sun-warmed streets of Yop City - sneaking out for dancing at open-air bars, strong solibra beer, chicken in peanut sauce and avoiding at all costs the scandal pages of the Calamity Morning.... Aya is a captivating, colourful and hugely entertaining portrayal of an Africa we rarely see, spirited and resilient, and full of the sounds, sights and smells of a prosperous town and its varied inhabitants.
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diovival
Aya | Marguerite Abouet, Clment Oubrerie
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Pickpick

Finished my first book of #40for40 a few days ago and I didn't realize this was part of a series until now. Like, there's more!!?!!!?! OMG. I have a thicc stack of library books waiting for my attention but I'll absolutely be returning to this story.

A graphic novel set in the Ivory Coast, 1978. Brimming with drama and mess. Maury Povich levels of mess. Loved it.

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Hooked_on_books
Aya | Marguerite Abouet, Clment Oubrerie
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Pickpick

I‘m not a GN reader, but I thought it‘d be fun to shake up my #ReadingAfrica2022 challenge by adding one in, and it was! I didn‘t enjoy how the story jumped quickly between the different characters, but I really enjoyed the art of the #CotedIvoire street scenes, and the pages at the end with a glossary, recipe, and other Ivorian info was fun.

Librarybelle That is gorgeous artwork! 2y
52 likes1 stack add1 comment
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mavs
Aya, de Yopougon | Marguerite Abouet
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Acabei de terminar esse quadrinho ;)

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zurazureen
Aya, de Yopougon | Marguerite Abouet
Mehso-so

Coming of age story and challenges among girls in Ivory Coast

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alisiakae
Aya | Marguerite Abouet, Clment Oubrerie
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Pickpick

This story feels like the Ivory Coast‘s version of a telenovela, but in graphic novel form. Focusing on everyday teen life in a working class neighborhood of Abidjan, it gives the reader a more upbeat story set in West Africa.

#readingafrica2022 #cotedivoire
#booked2022 #authorborninafrica
#20in4

Cinfhen Ohhh, I still need that country !! #stacked 2y
alisiakae @Cinfhen it was a borderline pick, but I still plan on reading the next one in the series. My library only has the first two books. If I read a book set in San Francisco or Sao Paulo, Brazil I can also use this for the #pop22 #sistercities prompt. 2y
Librarybelle This sounds interesting! 2y
Cinfhen Clever 🙌🏻 2y
59 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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DGRachel
Aya | Marguerite Abouet, Clment Oubrerie
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Mehso-so

This is definitely a case of not a good fit for me. It‘s a graphic novel focused on 3 teen girls in late 70s Ivory Coast, complete with partying and teen pregnancy. About the only thing I enjoyed was the brief history in the preface. To be fair, it is an interesting slice-of-life glimpse at the time period, it‘s just not my cup of tea. #readingafrica2022 #cotedivoire

BarbaraBB And another one ticked off! 3y
Librarybelle You‘re doing so well! 3y
DGRachel @BarbaraBB @Librarybelle I have one more graphic novel checked out from the library and then my speeding through Africa is going to come to a screeching halt. The rest of the list will take me longer to get through. ☺️ 3y
BarbaraBB But it‘s motivating to have so many done already! 3y
63 likes4 comments
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PhoenixRISING2x
Aya | Marguerite Abouet, Clment Oubrerie
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The father reminds me of the dad in cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Aya, the graphic novel came out in 2007, while the aforementioned movie came out in 2009.

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GatheringBooks
Aya, de Yopougon | Marguerite Abouet
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Pickpick

#LovePrevails Day 26: What a classic example of #AwkwardLove right here. I was intrigued by how Aya skilfully manoeuvred her way around men who desire her: a few are harmless and ingratiating but dumb like Herve as portrayed above; while others are more nefarious and quite dangerous. My full review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-n1y

Eggs Oh this is brilliant 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 4y
39 likes1 comment
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lyradora
Aya | Marguerite Abouet, Clment Oubrerie
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Pickpick

I absolutely love this series. I rarely read non genre fiction or graphic novels, but this story sucked me right in. It's a compelling coming of age story set in the Ivory Coast in the 1970s. Appealing characters and wonderful artwork. #graphicnovels #comingofage

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GatheringBooks
Aya, de Yopougon | Marguerite Abouet
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#ReadingResolutions Day 22: This graphic novel is an #AwardWinner (Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for First Comic Book) and has been adapted into a film. Originally published in French, the entire ouevre is translated into English and published by Drawn&Quarterly. I first heard of this novel while I was in Munich at the library, but didn‘t know about the translated edition. Found this baby at the #BigBadWolf in KL for a steal.

37 likes1 stack add
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TheLondonBookworm
Aya, de Yopougon | Marguerite Abouet
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New delivery at work! Just picked up this beauty. The Ivory Coast 1970- tells the story of 19 year old bookish Aya navigating her life In Yop City. A captivating vision of the Africa we rarely see.

queerbookreader Ooooooo I heard this is good I hope you enjoy 7y
TheLondonBookworm @lemonlime799 It was good! Although not quite as good as I expected- i wasn't totally blown away. 7y
58 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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Zelma
Aya | Marguerite Abouet, Clment Oubrerie
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Pickpick

A slice-of-life story set in late 1970s suburban Ivory Coast. Such a different story than usually comes out of that region, but still very true and unique and interesting. At first, I was underwhelmed, but the story gradually grew on me, as did the characters. The artwork isn't my favorite but worked with the tone. I realized this was a definitely pick when I got to end and realized I wanted even more! It was just like a soap opera by the end.

Zelma I just realized on Goodreads that there are more volumes. Yippee!!!!!!! 😃 8y
JuliaQuinn I love the Aya books! 8y
Zelma @JuliaQuinn it was such a slow build for me. Plodding along, thinking was just ok, and then realizing I didn't want it to end! 😆 7y
49 likes4 stack adds3 comments
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Zelma
Aya | Marguerite Abouet, Clment Oubrerie
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Just got these lovelies at the library while doing some reconnaissance for a job interview tomorrow. I am still unsure if I completely want this position but am still pursuing it to learn some more about it before I can decide.

ValerieAndBooks Good luck with everything! 8y
TobeyTheScavengerMonk Pride of Baghdad is a thing to behold! And The Unwritten is great, but not everyone's cup of tea. Hope you enjoy it! 8y
andreadmw Pride of Baghdad ❤️ 🦁 8y
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Zelma @ValerieAndBooks thanks! 😀 @TobeyTheScavengerMonk @andreadmw I'm really looking forward to Pride. It's one of those that I know is a classic and somehow I kept missing it. 8y
LiteraryinPA Good luck on the interview and on the sleuthing! 8y
cariashley Good luck!! 8y
Zelma @LiteraryinLititz @cariashley thank you! I appreciate it. 👍 8y
BookswithB Hope the interview went well! Sex Criminals is such a fun series, I need to pick up volume two! 8y
Zelma @BookswithB thanks so much! I think it went really well. Now just waiting to hear anything. Just finished Sex Criminals last night. So odd but entertaining. (edited) 8y
BookswithB great! I'm crossing my fingers for you!! It's different, right? I liked it, especially all the 80's references, if I'm remembering correctly, it's been a while. 8y
Zelma @BookswithB I can't decide how I felt about it. 😆 the plot is so over-the-top. Of the stack pictured, I still need to read Aya, but Tommy Taylor was my favorite. Still need to review it but I loved it. 8y
alanacristin That's a great stack! I super loved the whole Unwritten series as well as all the Aya 😍 8y
Zelma @alanacristin good to know. I need more Tommy Taylor but they weren't at the library yesterday. 8y
Zelma @TobeyTheScavengerMonk i think I forgot to review The Unwritten but just wanted mention that I really liked it. Definitely planning on reading the rest of the series as soon as I get down with my Walking Dead binge. 7y
TobeyTheScavengerMonk The Unwritten only gets darker and weirder as is goes along. Glad you liked it! 7y
56 likes15 comments
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Onioons
Aya | Marguerite Abouet, Clment Oubrerie
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Loved this #diversepicturebooks from The Ivory Coast. I felt immersed in an unfamiliar culture and Aya, Adjoua and Bintou were good fun 🇨🇮#marchintoreading

48 likes4 stack adds
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BookishShelly
Aya | Marguerite Abouet, Clment Oubrerie
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Pickpick

I really liked this fun graphic novel. It's the first one I've read that takes place in Africa (specifically Ivory Coast). I'd love to read more graphic novels that take place in an African country.

erzascarletbookgasm I liked this, too :) 8y
Lindy If you want Guadeloupe: 8y
See All 12 Comments
Lindy And a great one from Malaysia: 8y
Lindy For Poland, I loved 8y
Lindy For Israel, I highly recommend 8y
Lindy Michel Chikwanine, coauthor, was kidnapped and forced to become a soldier in the Democratic Republic of Congo: 8y
BookishShelly @Lindy Thank you for the recommendations! I'll add those to my TBR list. 8y
Lindy @BookishShelly You're welcome. As you can tell, I get excited about world graphic novels. 8y
BookishShelly @BookishTrish thank you for the recommendation! 8y
BookishTrish You're welcome! It's an intense read! 8y
53 likes4 stack adds12 comments
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Qemorio
Aya | Marguerite Abouet, Clment Oubrerie
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Pickpick

I'm still not a huge fan of graphic novels but that is an issue with myself not this book. I really enjoyed the story and the glimpse into the every day life of those in Côte d‘Ivoire. I might just pick up more in this series even though I'm not a fan of the format, the story sucked me in, I need to know more.

26 likes1 stack add
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Onioons
Aya | Marguerite Abouet, Clment Oubrerie
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Got some very exciting book mail today! Aya is a graphic novel telling the story of three young women from Cote D'Ivoire. It's so late but I keep promising myself just a couple of more pages before bed 🕐🕑🕒🕓🕔

Lindy I really like these. Also, Clement Oubrerie did 8y
Onioons @Lindy fantastic thanks! I'm really enjoying his artwork. 8y
40 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Mel
Aya | Marguerite Abouet, Clment Oubrerie
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Pickpick

An absolute charming graphic novel series about 19-year ago old Aya and her friends in 1970s West Africa. Images are bright and colorful and the story shows perfect snapshots into the vibrant lives of the characters. #diversereads #africanauthors

21 likes5 stack adds
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BrownGirlReading
Aya, de Yopougon | Marguerite Abouet
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Pickpick

Comic full of laughter and emotion. Aya is going to make you read through the entire series in one sitting. 😊#readsoullit #comics #translatedwork #aya

6 likes3 stack adds
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erzascarletbookgasm
Aya, de Yopougon | Marguerite Abouet
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Pickpick

This is the first in the series of graphic novels set in 1970s Ivory Coast. A coming-of-age story that follows the life of Aya and the colourful characters who live in the ethnically mixed city of Yopougon. Captivating, entertaining and full of sounds, sights and smell of Africa as we seldom see. It deals with themes of family, honesty and women's role and progress in society. A thoroughly fun read. Now to search for books 2 to 6 in the series!

erzascarletbookgasm This six series was written and illustrated by wife/husband team, Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie. Originally in French, it has been adapted into an animated film in 2012. 8y
25 likes1 comment
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JanJan
Aya | Marguerite Abouet, Clment Oubrerie
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Pickpick

I loved this funny, smart, and beautiful graphic novel! It is pretty much a soap opera plot but the light hearted tone is also skillfully political (dealing with class and gender issues). the expressive art and delightful characters made for a fun read. I'm glad it is a series so that I can read more about Aya and her friends and family in the Ivory Coast in the 1970s.

BookishFeminist Thanks for the rec! Never heard of this one before but it looks really good. 8y
7 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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JanJan
Aya | Marguerite Abouet, Clment Oubrerie
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I love the art and humor in this graphic novel placed in the Ivory Coast.

4 likes1 stack add
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estellasrevenge
Aya | Marguerite Abouet, Clment Oubrerie
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Pickpick

Youth behaving badly on the Ivory Coast of Africa in the 70s. It's melodramatic, silly, and over the top, but also free of African stereotypes prevalent in the media. Aya herself, ambitious and determined to be a doctor, is sort of a side note in this first volume, but I can't wait for more.

21 likes3 stack adds
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Booksnob
Aya | Marguerite Abouet, Clment Oubrerie
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Here we go.

BellaBookNook I own this one but haven't read it yet. Let me know what you think? 9y
Ellsbeth I had fun reading these. 8y
Booksnob Did you read all 6? 8y
3 likes3 comments
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Booksnob
Aya | Marguerite Abouet, Clment Oubrerie
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I'm reading Aya while waiting for the movie to start. Pretty sure I'm the only one with a book in here.

5 likes1 stack add